Destiny 2: Tales of the Papa Bears
by Snowe Minasu
Summary: A Re-telling of the main story through the eyes of the members of a tight-knit group of friends. What happened to them during the Red War? Did anyone die? What became of the Traveler? Please note this story features predominantly Gay/Bi-Sexual Themes and characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: When the Light Died**

 **Ellis**

We were on Titan when the world went to shit. Our Clan, "The Papa Bear Fire Team", was tasked with raiding and securing Hive Ritual Sites being created on titan. Cayde wasn't too thrilled about us taking the mission but Cayde isn't happy unless he's shooting a gun. Just six members of the clan were there, we split into teams of three. Everyone else was on standby back on Earth. I was currently partnered with two of the clan's founders and we had just cleared out the last remaining ritual zone. "Well boys, looks like the mission was a success! Who's your daddy" said Joe, who was our fearless leader. "You ask that every time we complete a mission, it's getting a bit old" Kacey replied. Joe chuckled a little, "Well excuse me, can't help that I'm papa bear?" Kacey just shook his head. I surveyed the area we were currently in, something just felt off. The hive had been more active in the last few days but it seemed like they were preparing a defense as opposed to trying to wipe out humanity, which was their normal MO.

I let out a sigh; maybe I was just imagining things. I turned my attention to Joe and Kacey who were still bickering; you could always count on them for comedic relief. "Guys enough, lets meet up with the others and get back to the traveler." I said "We need to plan our next move, which means I need time to devise strategies." We all summoned our ghost and were preparing to return to our ships when we got a transmission over coms. "Guys! Something's wrong. Dustin just collapsed!" Came Clinton's voice. "Get to Siren's watch now!" Joe, Kacey and I took off at a run, we were only about 500 meters from their location. While we were running Joe began yelling over coms "What do you mean collapsed? What the hell happened?!" No response. "Clinton! Dustin! Dennis!" Still no response. We began to run faster, something was definitely wrong. Kacey tried to reach the others back on earth but there was no response. I tried to reach Cayde or Zavala and again no response, it's like the long range coms were being jammed. Even with ghost boosting the signal we couldn't get thorough.

After running for just a few minutes we reached sirens watch. "Split up and find them" Kacey said. I ran up to the observation deck, our rendezvous point, to see what I could find and there they were. Clinton, Dustin and Dennis, all collapsed on the floor. I drew my weapon and moved in slowly, did something attack them? Were there still hive remnants around? I swept the room quickly and quietly as a hunter should but found no trace of anyone or anything else around. I called Joe and Kacey over to my location, it was fortunate that short range coms were still operational. Kacey arrived first and removed his helmet. "What happened?" he asked. "I shook my head "I don't know, when I got here they were all like this. There were no signs that anyone else has been here either." Kacey bent over Clinton and removed his helmet. Clinton was breathing but barely, sweating profusely and he looked to be in pain. Kacey then removed the helmets from both Dustin and Dennis and found them in the same condition.

I looked around the room quickly; I knew something didn't feel right. As I looked around I noticed Joe wasn't here. "Kacey, stay here with them. See if you can do something for them with your powers. I'm going to see where Joe is." I said. He nodded and continued to check on our fallen teammates. I left the observation deck and preceded down the stairs, I didn't have to go far though. Joe was there, collapsed on the staircase. I rushed to his side and removed his helmet. Just like the others, what could've done this? I put his arm around my shoulder and lifted him up. No easy feat I may add, why did Titans have to have such heavy armor? I slowly climbed the steps carrying Joe and returned to the observation deck. I laid him next to the others and took a deep breath. Kacey was at the main computer terminal frantically typing away. "Got any ideas what the hell is happening?" I asked walking over to him. "Barely, ghost and I have been trying to reach the others or the tower and all we managed to get back was a message that said 'light gone.'" He responded. "I'm trying to get us patched into the emergency channels to see if we can get in contact with someone but so far no luck."

"Keep Trying. Cause I have a bad feeling about this whole situation. Ghost and I will analyze the other ghosts and see what we can find." I said. Kacey simply kept typing. I summoned my ghost and he simply fell into my hands. "Something is wrong, I feel different." He said weakly. I looked at Kacey and watched as he collapsed across the keyboard. That's when I felt it, a cold wave rushing over me. It felt like my soul had been shredded apart, and then the world went black.

 **Kacey**

I woke up slowly and found myself still at the computer terminal; I turned my chair around and found the others still passed out. Ellis was passed out at my side clutching his ghost to his chest. I shook my head to clear the fog from it, I still felt so weak. I summoned my ghost and he weakly hovered "Kacey, thank god your alive!" he exclaimed. "If I had lost you, well I don't want to think about that." I held up my hand "Ghost, what the hell happened to us? Why do I feel so weak?" I asked. Ghost gave what could pass as a sigh "It's gone" he said softly. I gave a confused look. "What? What is gone?" I asked sternly. "The light, Kacey someone wiped out the light. You no longer have your guardian powers and I can no longer resurrect you, though I can heal you." He replied. I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. This couldn't be possible, it was a lie, had to be. I turned back to the computer and began trying to access the emergency frequencies. Someone somewhere had to be out there. As I typed I turned my thoughts to our friends on earth. Were they ok? I shook the tough from my mind. 'Stay Calm, be rational and focus' I said to myself. "Ghost see if you can get the others up, maybe you can get their ghosts functioning again so they can heal them" I said. "Alright I'll do what I can" he replied. After just a few minutes I managed to finally get into the emergency channel, that's when I heard Zavala's voice.

" _All guardians who can heed my voice please listen carefully. The Red legion has attacked the traveler. I repeat the red legion has attacked the traveler. The assault on the traveler has caused the light to fade away and render all guardians powerless. Cayde and Ikora are nowhere to be found and we are still under siege. All guardians, you are to evacuate to emergency locations as per Omega Protocol. Citizens you are to reach the emergency shuttles for evacuation immediately. Take caution, the red legion are hunting and killing powerless guardians as well as civilians. I pray you all remain safe"_

The Color drained from my face, this couldn't be happening. We needed to get back to earth and fast. The message began replaying itself, and I just sat there. This is was the worst possible situation and I was literally powerless to do anything about it. I put my head down and took a deep breath. Suddenly I heard I shriek and turned to see a thrall charge straight at me. "Duck!" came a voice from behind and I immediately dropped my head and head a gunshot go off. I raised my head and saw the body of the thrall sprawled across the floor. "Oh Yeah One Shot Kill, Man I love this shotgun!" exclaimed a voice. "Damnit Joe that was way to close a shot" I grumbled. "Well next time I won't save you" he snapped back. "Guys, we have bigger issues than this" Clinton said in an exasperated tone. "We are TARGETS! AND IT'S NOT JUST US. We need to get out of here like now" Joe put his hand on Clinton's shoulder. "We'll be fine, don't worry. We'll get you to your husband and Dustin we'll get you to yours. They'll be ok too." Clinton nodded and Dustin shrugged.

I stood up and faced the group, they were all up and aside from looking run down they were ok. I felt bad that Dennis was with us. He was a new recruit that I had been mentoring, had I knew this was going to happen I would've made sure he was somewhere safer. But what was done was done; I'd just have to keep an eye on him. "So fearless leader, what's the plan?"

 **Joe**

"So fearless leader, what's the plan?" Kacey asked me. The other's all turned their attention to me. I should expect that being the clan leader and all. Plus these guys were like family to me and I needed to keep them safe. "Well judging by the message Zavala is broadcasting, we should first get somewhere safe." I said. I pointed to the thrall corpse "Especially considering there may be hive remnants. Once we're up in the air Ellis start making up a strategy to help us deal with not having powers" I said I summoned ghost, "Buddy are you good to transport me to my ship?" I asked him, poor little guy. He looked so beat up without the light. "Yes, Fortunately I have the capability to get you to your ship." He responded. "But be warned, Hive activity has been detected close to our present location."

Dustin stepped forward, "You guys can go, I'm in a particularly bad mood and need to let off some steam." He said voice full of anger. "I can't let you stay here alone with no powers!" I said raising my voice. Ellis put his hand on my shoulder, "I'm staying here too, I need to make sure of something, once Dustin works out his anger we will join you. You guys need to go now" he said. I wanted to stop them but he was right, we were running out of time and the situation was getting worse. Besides once Dustin got in a bad mood, powers or no powers he was a force to be reckoned with and highly dangerous. "Be safe you too and meet us back on earth as soon as you can." I said. Clinton, Dennis, Kacey and I summoned our ghosts and transported back to our ships. "Ghost get us to Earth now!" I said.

 **Dustin**

I watch the group transport out, it was just me and Ellis. But that didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that I destroyed something. "Dustin, I know what you're thinking but I need you to stay here and guard me for a bit." Ellis said. "Don't worry according to my ghost their converging on this location and will probably be here in waves. You'll get a chance to destroy stuff." He said as he sat at the computer. "You don't know me" I mumbled. I pulled out my rifle and checked how much ammo I had left. Luckily for me I had enough for a decent fight. "What are you over there doing?" I asked, not really caring about the answer. I just wanted to kill time before hive forces get to us. "I'm scanning Titan to see if there are any other guardians here." He said. "Gentlemen, it seems as though the Hive forces have arrived" Ghost said.  
I cocked my rifle and shivered in anticipation, "I'll be back" I said. "Just don't die, I'll be in touch via coms" he replied. I shrugged and walked over to the far door and closed and locked it. "You don't die." I said running out the other door with my gun drawn.

I could hear them outside as I got further down the steps. Couldn't be too many left around here after we raided the place and took down the ritual sites. I reached the door and stuck my gun out. Instantly a hail of bullets fired. "Alright, let's get to work." I said to myself. I may not have my powers but I still have my grenades, my gun and I was super pissed. I charged out firing in all direction, I managed to take down three or four acolytes before hiding behind some crates. "Dustin, can you hear me?" came Ellis' voice over coms. "I'm kind of busy right now" I replied tossing a grenade at my enemies. "Yeah I figured. I have a visual on you, there's only four enemies left." He said. I gave a little smile, just four left. This wouldn't be a challenge. I moved quickly and dispatched the closest enemy to me with my knife, using its body as a shield. Two acolytes decided to try and flank me, big mistake. I ducked behind the crates again and waited until they got closer. I shielded my eyes and set off my flashbang grenade just a few feet in front of me. Thanks to my helmet my ears were safe from the blast. I looked to my left and saw one of the acolytes stunned so I moved in and stabbed him in the head. Using my gun, I managed to take the acolyte on the right down. All that was left was the knight, I pushed the dead acolyte I had been using as a shield towards him to throw him off balance. It didn't work to well he was too quick. He charged with his sword and I barely managed to dodge. He came at me again and again and I just kept dodging. I was getting more and more pissed, enough was enough. I put my rifle down and pulled my side arm. He charged at me again and managed to tag me in the shoulder, but he left himself wide open. I moved in quickly and closed the space between us, then pressed my gun against his forehead. "Fuck you" I said as I pulled the trigger.

"Dustin come in." Came Ellis' voice over coms. I holstered my weapon and responded "What?". I could hear him take a deep breath. "Looks like Titan is clear for now, no signs of other people. But we need to leave, we're picking up Red legion ships approaching." I scoffed. Did he think I was afraid of the Red Legion? Even without my powers I could still put someone down, I mean look what I just did. "Dustin, we need to go. Earth is still pretty far away and we are in no condition for a long drawn out fight, especially without the light." He said. I kicked the corpse of the fallen knight, I knew he was right. This whole thing just sucked, and I was angry. Mostly at myself.

 **Clinton**

It had been a couple hours since we left the others on Titan and I began to get more worried about them. I mean not too long ago we spotted a Red Legion patrol ship headed in their direction. I had to stop myself from going after them. What made it worse was that the long-range communications were still down, and even if they weren't we couldn't take the chance of the enemy intercepting the transmission. I just had to believe they were alright. That a lot of people were alright.

We were flying in camouflage mode so that we had a better chance of escape, considering our FTL drives were currently unavailable. I placed ghost in charge of flying and my thoughts turned to my husband; he wasn't a guardian like us. Just a gentle awoken man; a scholar. He wasn't suited for dealing with a situation like this and we didn't live with the clan like some of the others. He was alone, and I wasn't there to protect him. I switched my ship to auto pilot and sat back and took a deep breath. Usually I was so upbeat and positive but this time not so much. I just wanted to get back as soon as possible, but I knew it would take a few days before we got to earth. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, I was still feeling the effects of losing my powers and I needed to rest.

Suddenly my ship shook violently and Dennis came across coms "It's a Red legion patrol ship! They're engaging!" he shouted. "Coming from the rear!" I switched controls back to me and began to dodge the incoming fire. I needed to get around them, as it stood only Dennis and I had our ships modified for battle at the moment; considering Ellis and Dustin stayed behind. "Joe, Kacey you two get going. Dennis and I will handle this and catch up" I said over coms. "I am not leaving another teammate behind!" Joe shouted back. "If you don't we would all die, we can't fight back and protect you both at the same time!" Dennis replied. "They'll be fine, let's go before another patrol ship gets here!" Kacey said. I flew behind Kacey and Dennis behind Joe and turned our ships towards the enemy. "Light 'em up!" Dennis said as he began firing. I followed suit. I tracked Joe and Kacey on my sensor leave the area and Dennis and I began our battle.

 **Dennis**

The enemy was larger so it was an easier target, and slower. This is what I lived for, battles in the air. I quickly transmitted a battle plan over to Clinton. It was a simple pincer maneuver designed to make it harder for the ship to hit both of us. I had Clinton cover the rear since all the primary weaponry on the enemy ship was at its front. We moved quickly into position never stopping our firing on the ship. I kept dodging the incoming fire from the enemy; I was just waiting and biding my time. Smoke began to seep from the top of the sip and I knew that we had done some significant damage to it. "Clinton Disengage and go after the others." I said over coms "You do not want to be around for this next part" "Are you sure?" he replied. "Yeah, that ship is dead in the water so I'm going destroy it. Get going." I watched Clinton disengage and speed off in the direction of our teammates, I wouldn't be far behind. I watched the enemy ship begin to charge up, this is what I had been waiting for. Arc Energy! Their plan was to finish me off with an arc blast however; my ship was outfitted with an arc absorber that would absorb the energy. They fired and I activated the converter simultaneously and watched the energy levels on my ship rise.

"Energy levels are at their max and we have quite some excess we're building up" Ghost said. I smiled, "Good! When they're done firing, compress the excess and fire it back!" I said. After two minutes the enemy ships firing halted and ghost began to compress the excess energy we received, it would be a minute before we could fire but it didn't matter. Their ship was out of power, and they were out of luck. "Firing now!" Ghost said as a massive arc burst poured from my ship crashing into the red legion causing the ship to explode. "WHOOO HOOO! I love fireworks!" I cheered. Something good finally happened, my ship got access to all its major functions again. Most ships just drew it's power from the light, but mine had always drew from arc energy going back to my days in the military.

I did a quick scan of the area for more enemy ships, and when my scan came back clear. I turned my ship around headed off towards the others.

 **Joe**

I was frantic. In just a few hours everything went to shit. I had lost my powers, contact with the team back home and was forced to leave four teammates behind powerless. These guys were my friends, more than that they were like my family. I was the leader yet, I'm literally powerless to do anything for them. I tear fell rolled down my cheek, I was just that frustrated. I scanned the area and picked up a ship on my radar headed towards us, it was too small to be an enemy ship. My heart jumped when I heard Clinton's voice come through the com. "Clinton! You're ok!" I said excited "Yeah, thanks to Dennis" he replied. His ship pulled up next to mine. "Is he ok?" I asked , but there was no response. Ghost came across the com " I apologize but, it seems he's fallen asleep. I will be piloting for him."

'Poor Guy Must be tired' I thought to myself. He had been on about four raids this week already then this happened. I couldn't blame him for being tired, hell I was still feeling a bit run down too. "Kacey, how long till we get to earth?" I asked. "About two days without our FTL drives." He replied. Two days flying through space, basically defenseless. I guess I should count my blessings, we were alive. That's something.

I just hope the guys back home were ok.

 **Dennis**

This was great, my ship had enough power to make the jump to earth. If I could catch up with the others we could all go together and regroup. Was I awesome or what? It took me a little over two hours to reach the others location. "You guys miss me?" I asked "I'm glad you're ok. Clinton told us you stayed behind and that you were pretty good in that fight" Kacey said. "I was a pilot in my past" I said. "Fought some of the first battles against the vex and the red legion". I didn't mean to brag, well maybe I did. I hadn't been In the clan long and I was still adjusting to life as a guardian. So I wanted them to know that I could keep up with them. "That aside, guys I can get us back to earth!" I said. They all started talking at once over coms. It was hard to discern who was saying what. "GUYS!" I shouted trying to get their attention. "The how is not important, at least not now. Let's get to earth and I'll explain later". I had ghost tether my ship to the others, so once I activate the FTL they would tag along. "Is this safe?" Clinton asked. I chuckled "Safer than anything else we've done today" I said as I activated the FTL Drive, we were on our way home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Day the Light Died, Part 2**

 **Stephane**

It was one of those rare quiet days for me. Some of the clan went on a mission yesterday and the rest of us decided to take a day to just relax. It was still early in the morning so I was at home still in bed lying in my husband's arms with my head on his chest. He was stroking my hair and I couldn't help but smile. It was rare that he could sleep in like this due to work so I was going to take full advantage of it. "You look happy" he said looking down at me. I snuggled up closer to him. "I am, we haven't gotten to do this in a while" I replied. He pulled me closer "It's probably my fault. I've been taking on more training time trying to get the new recruits trained faster." He said.

I shook my head; it wasn't his fault the blame was on me. I was always gone and felt so guilty about never being home. "No it's mine. Life as a guardian, it's keeping me away from home" I said softly. He kissed my forehead "Let's just agree that both of our work is important, and will likely keep us apart most of the time. But let's also keep in mind that the time we do get to be together is special I cherish every second of it. So don't worry, I will always be here when you get back" I smiled again, this man was my world and I loved him. He was right, we both had important work; I was a guardian and he was a pilot for the Vanguard Military. I lifted my face to his and kissed him, "We should take advantage of this time then" I said coyly. He chuckled and kissed me back. "It's going to be a rough ride"

 **Paul**

It was a nice enough morning, which was rare. We were constantly fighting day in and day out and it was tiring. With the others on a raid the rest of us agreed to take the day to just relax. I was at a morning brunch with Clinton's husband, Brennan, having a drink. We were waiting for Bryan, Dustin's Husband, to meet up with us. "Did he say what he needed to talk about?" Brennan asked. I shook my head, "He just said he needed to talk. I guess they got into a fight before Dustin left" I replied. Brennan sighed, "He wouldn't be the only one." I was surprised, Brennan and Clinton rarely fought. Those these were hard and stressful times. So, I understood, even me and my partner had a small argument recently. Just then Bryan walked in and sat at the table. "I could use a drink right about now. Hey loves" he said. He looked tired and over it, like he had been up all night. "Are you ok? You look exhausted" I asked. He huffed a sigh and reached over, took my drink and drank it in one swallow. I took that as a sign that he wasn't alright. I looked over at Brennan and he had the same expression as Bryan. Just a few moments ago he was smiling, but now.

"What's with you two?' I asked. They both shared a look and sighed in tandem. I poured us all another drink and took a sip. Brennan spoke up first "How do you do it?" he asked. "Do what?" was my response. "Have a relationship as a guardian. It's not like you guys are always around." I shrugged. I didn't have a solid answer for that. We didn't choose to be guardians, we were chosen. At the heart of things, we still felt love like other people and still had needs. I was finally understanding what this brunch was. I suspect all of us who were married or seeing someone was going through or went through the same thing; The strain of having a relationship and being a guardian. Bryan spoke up "Dustin and I fought before he left on yet another raid. I asked him to leave the clan and just live with me and enjoy our life but he refused. Called me selfish and just left." He was visibly frustrated. "Hours we went back and forth and then he just left. Just walked out, it's like you guys come first and I'm just a place holder." I reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever think that, ever. Dustin can be a little hard to read but he isn't cold. He's been my partner since we joined the clan and you're all he talks about. Everything he does is to protect you." I said. He shook his head in disbelief. Brennan took a sip of his drink "You don't get it. We're not guardians, we're concerned. We don't have immortality, or special powers. Just because you guys are out there 'Protecting us' doesn't mean we feel safe. We're alone all the time, we worry and it's frustrating".

What could I say? They were right, every member of the clan broke the cardinal rule. No Attachments, focus only on the mission. We were people who broke all conventions, even vanguard authority sometimes had disdain for us because of it. "Guys listen, they love you. They broke rules and sacred vows just for you. Do you know how many guardians outside of the clan have family? 0. I realize that it's hard being with us and that we're gone a lot but do you think for one moment that we choose to live like this? The only choice we really have is to do what needs to do to protect the people we love. And as far as Dustin goes, he's a hot head sometimes. You know that" I said. "The same goes for Clinton and all of us. We want nothing more than to be here with you guys, but we have to do what we do to ensure your safety." They both nodded but sat in silence. I knew my words wouldn't mean too much, that they would carry more weight if their partners said them. But I was hoping they would be receptive to them, I hated seeing my friends like this. Bryan blew out a sigh "Maybe you're right, I'll talk to Dustin when he gets back. I don't like how we left things". I gave a little smile, "Good you should. Life should be cherished. Now let's eat and keep drinking" Hailing over a waiter.

 **TJ**

I was at Clan HQ, in the weapons wing cleaning the weaponry and taking inventory. I hadn't been feeling all that well today so I figured I'd do an easy task as it was my day off. The HQ was empty today as everyone decided to just take the day to relax for once. Finally, I got some time to myself and my thoughts, something was wrong today. My powers had been fluctuating and it was hard to keep them in check. Maybe I was getting sick? Who knew? I turned my attention to my task. I loved weaponry, weird for a warlock but still we all had a hobby.

That's when I heard the blaring of the alarm, but wait something was off. Our alarm seemed louder than usual. That's when it hit me. I was hearing the Clan's emergency alarm, the church bells and every vanguard alarm in the vicinity! I grabbed my scout rifle and slung it over my shoulder and ran out the weapons wing and towards the war room, I needed to get in touch with a friend. I got to the war room and immediately went to the Coms, I needed to get in touch with the vanguard. "Vanguard Command this is the PBFT, please respond." I radioed. There was no response just a feedback, not a good sign. I tried again, but again nothing. I knew there were only a few of us in the city and I was going to get us together and access what the situation was. Stephane lived closest so I would start there.

 **Stephane**

We had just gotten out of the shower when the alarm sounded. Francis recognized one of the alarms as a vanguard call to arms. He quickly dressed and grabbed his service pistol, gave me a deep kiss, told me he loved me and took off. I quickly began putting on my armor when I fell to one knee. My body felt lighter like I wasn't whole any more. "Ghost what happened?" I said as I summoned my ghost. He hovered weakly, "I'm not sure but my power has diminished and I'm sensing cabal troops approaching the planet". He said. I struggled to my feet and steadied myself, the alarms were still blaring and I took a deep breath. I knew that all but three of us were off world so I didn't have to account for most of them yet. Just TJ and Paul. I grabbed my communicator and tried reaching out to Paul, but got no answer. I began to radio TJ when over the alarms I heard banging on my front door. I rushed to it and swung it open and there TJ stood with his gun in hand. "We need to go, now!" he said. "We have to get to Paul, then to the evac point! We just lost our powers!" Honestly, I wanted to react but couldn't. I stepped outside closing the door behind me. "Where to first?"

 **Paul**

I thought it was the drinks, that this lightheadedness was just because I was a lightweight. But once I saw the first cabal troop make landfall, figured otherwise. I had one of the nearby guardians take Brennan and Bryan to the vanguard emergency evacuation point while I covered their escape. I armed each of them with one of my extra side arms and sent them on their way. I used one of solar spells to temporarily blind the legion troop and watch my friends vanish in the distance. I used an arc spell on the cabal soldier and noticed that it was slightly weaker than normal. However, it did the job, the cabal soldier was down. I walked over to him and took his weapons, I didn't have my main equipment with me and the fact that cabal soldiers were dropping from the sky was a huge disadvantage. The began dropping to the ground firing blindly, civilians were panicking and running and nearby guardians began firing back.

What the hell was going on? That thought kept flashing through my mind as I fought against the invaders. Zavala had broadcasted an announcement that Guardians were to aid civilians in escaping however, we were clearly out numbered. More and more troops were appearing. There were casualties happening all around me, and I couldn't stop it. "Ghost! Find me an escape route" I shouted as I fired spell after spell against the growing hoard. "I'm trying! But it's getting harder to pinpoint one! We also have another problem! I can't sense the light within me! I don't think I can resurrect you!" he responded. Ironic, isn't it? I just had a conversation about being immortal and now I'm basically mortal. I prayed the guys got to the evac and that they remembered the clan's emergency hideout coordinates. I kept fighting against the cabal troops slowly making my way to headquarters. I was still exhausted and needed a break.

For long minutes I was alternating between spells and gunfire to fight off the invaders until what we affectionately call "Joe's Battle Cry" occurred. I ran out of ammo. I dropped the stolen gun and started casting void spells to trap enemies and following up with Arc and Solar spells to take them down. I knew that I couldn't keep it up forever, I was still feeling weak and I was sure that the number of enemies was growing. Midway between a spell I ran out of strength and fell to my knees focused their fire and it was all I could do to maintain a void shield. They closed in on me slowly, almost cocky and readied their guns. My shield came down and I couldn't muster up another. There I sat surrounded by these sadistic bastards, I looked down the barrel of a rifle "Pull the damn trigger bitch, I dare you" I spat out. He pressed the barrel against my head and I closed my eyes, then I heard a gunshot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Day the Light Died, Part 3**

 **Stephane**

We barely made it to Paul in time. He was surrounded by cabal soldiers with a gun pressed against his head and I was having none of it. I took out the soldier with a single shot of the sniper rifle I picked up off an enemy a few minutes ago and that caught the rest of their attention. TJ immediately started firing off spells left and right to create distance between them and Paul. I charged in, switching to my rifle and eliminating enemies as I moved. It only took us a few minutes to dispatch what I believed was 20 or so soldiers. I was filthy, covered in blood and sweat. I walked over to Paul and helped him up. "You know there are more fun ways to spend time on your knees." I said jokingly. He smiled weakly "Maybe, but there's always later" I reached down and picked up the gun of a fallen soldier. "Can you keep fighting?" I said as I handed him the gun. "Yeah, but I can't use any spells for a while. Ghost can't heal exhaustion" he said. I nodded and turned to TJ "We need to get to the airfield. Francis has my ship tucked away there. "I said. TJ nodded "Let's find a place we can sit first, give Paul a minute to recover. I agreed and we helped Paul into one of the nearby buildings. We sat him on the floor and he took a deep breath. "Thanks Guys, that was a close one" he said. "No problem hun, just try to recover." I said. 'I started to walk around the floor we were on to make sure we were clear. This was insane. I only prayed my baby was alright.

 **TJ**

I summoned ghost and had him scan the area for civilians and guardians while Stephane checked out and secured the floor. I took a seat next to Paul while he scanned. "How are you feeling man?" I asked him. He took a deep breath "I'm getting there, my ghost is damaged but he's holding up" he said. I looked at him, he was still breathing heavy. He really overtaxed himself fighting the cabal and losing the light wasn't helping. The alarms were still blaring in the distance and you could hear gunfire in every direction. Ghost was hovering weakly doing his scan. He also took some damage and needed repairing. Once we got to the others I'm sure Kacey or Jose could help repair him, they were good at stuff like that. "TJ, it seems as though there are no civilians nearby and the soldiers are moving towards the airfield. We should move soon." I nodded and stood up. The airfield wasn't too far from here. Normally we wouldn't even need to go to get to our ships but we had to help with evacuations. Stephane came back and tossed a bottle of water to Paul. "Drink this, and then we got to move." He said.

 **Meanwhile**

He sat upon his throne and smiled with delight. It had been child's play to invade the tower. Those pathetic guards squandered their blessings and monopolized what should have been his. It mattered not; soon they would know misery and despair. They would feel the same powerlessness he experienced when he was young, while he would bask in the traveler's light. "Soon" he said softly, his whole body shivering in anticipation. For after this day, he would be master of the universe and no one could challenge his might. No one would dare challenge the Red Legion!

 **Back on Earth**

 **Paul**

We reached the airfield with no trouble, all the streets were clear. It seemed that all the fighting had become contained to this area. I couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing at this point, there was carnage everywhere and my heart sank. I hoped my friends were alright. Stephane had gone off to find Francis and secure the ships; TJ and I stayed behind and used our powers to cover the escape of the civilians with Commander Zavala. "Guardians be cautious, your powers will fade away before too long." He said charging into a group of enemies, tearing through them. He was right. My powers were already weakened and now they were fading, pretty soon I'd have to rely on just my weaponry. Luckily for us we were almost done evacuating civilians. Yet there was still no sign of Brennan and Bryan, man if anything happened to those guys. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on the task. Suddenly gunfire from above rained on the enemy and I heard a familiar voice over comms.

 **TJ**

"Hey Boys got the ship all ready for you!" Stephane said over comms. I tossed a grenade into a crowd of soldiers. "Great, let's get out of here. Looks like evacuations are complete." I said over comms moving quickly towards Paul. "Commander, Let's go!" I shouted. He decimated a large group of enemies with an arc strike. "You all go; I must find Ikora and Cayde. I pray you will all be safe" he said before rushing off towards the communication towers. Paul and I had our ghosts transport us aboard the ship. "Hang on, this will be a very rough ride" Francis said accelerating the ship full throttle. I stumbled backwards and caught Paul who also was caught off guard. We managed to get to seats and strap in.

 **Stephane**

We picked the guys up and took off, there were enemy ships everywhere and our pilot was anyone else, we'd be toast. But Francis was one of the best in the Vanguard. I took over navigation and began plotting our course. "You need to break through these defenses and get us to these coordinates on earth." I said to him "It's our emergency rendezvous point, everyone should be gathering there" He nodded and concentrated on getting us out of here. We were just one of many ships fleeing the tower and the enemy was trying to pick us off one by one. The ship jerked in all directions as we dodged al the incoming fire at the ship. I watched in horror as a few of the ships around us got hit and burst into smoldering fireballs that plummeted to the ground below. "This is impossible; there are too many ships to dodge!" I said exasperated. I turned to Francis and he has a weird smile on his face, "I think it's time we do sometime totally crazy" he said, as he began flipping switches on his console and pressing buttons. "EVERYONE HOLD ON!" he said as he flipped the final switch.

I felt the ship give an involuntary jerk and a small field of energy began surrounding it. "Oh you are not about to do what I think you are doing!" I said. He just kept smiling and put the ship in high gear. I felt the ship gain an incredible amount of speed and the world around us flew by. He had activated his FTL drive from within the planet atmosphere. Such a dangerous and stupid stunt! I gripped the arms of my chair until my knuckles became white. I could hear the guys in the back grunting at the sudden change of speed. After a few seconds our speed returned to normal and we were in space. I felt nauseous, sudden changes in speed like that were dangerous and harmful on the body. I released the arms on my chair, sat back and sucked in some air. 'WHOOOO HOOOO!" Francis cheered. I weakly raised a fist in the Air "Whoo hoo" I said "Never do that again" He turned in his seat and looked back at the guys "Doing ok back there?" he asked. "More or less; just waiting for the ringing in my head to stop." TJ said. Paul just gave thumbs up. I looked at the navigation system and scanner and saw we were out of range from the tower and the cabal, but we were still too close for comfort. "Francis head to the coordinates I inputted in the system while I check on our other passengers." I said getting up on shaky legs. "And let us now when you're about to do something crazy. Paul, TJ you guys want to come with me to the cargo hold?"

 **Paul**

We all walked down to the cargo hold and when the door opened I thought my heart would burst with relief. Brennan and Bryan were there along with Clay and Jose, two of my fellow clan mates. "I'm glad you're all alright. I was so worried about you guys." I said walking over and hugging them. "We ran into them on the way to the Airfield. The guardian they were with got taken out" Clay said. "But they were fine" We all stood there catching up and comparing notes when Francis came over the ships comms. "Guys listen to this message that we are receiving" he said. There were a few moments of silence and then we heard Zavala's voice.

" _All guardians who can heed my voice please listen carefully. The Red legion has attacked the traveler. I repeat the red legion has attacked the traveler. The assault on the traveler has caused the light to fade away and render all guardians powerless. Cayde and Ikora are nowhere to be found and we are still under siege. All guardians, you are to evacuate to emergency locations as per Omega Protocol. Citizens you are to reach the emergency shuttles for evacuation immediately. Take caution, the red legion are hunting and killing powerless guardians as well as civilians. I pray you all remain safe"_

"I thought we evacuated everyone!" Jose said. I shook my head. "The tower is located on a huge planet, so we may have only evacuated one major area. But that's all we can do for now. We got to get to the emergency clan location now." I said. I pressed the button on the wall left of me to access the ships comms, "Francis, how long until we get to earth?" I asked. "About two hours at this pace." He responded. Two hours, and we'd be reunited with the others. Hopefully we could figure out what to do without the light but for now, "Everyone should just relax for now. It's been a long day"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Ghaul

 _They cheered as we stormed the city, and praised me as we ripped the light out of the guardians. They were so sure that victory was ours that we had won. What fools. Victory was far from ours, and I refused to relax until the light was mine. I sat upon my throne and looked at my captive as he was bound and helpless. Yet he was so defiant, that would soon have to change. It had been two weeks since we dismantled the vanguard and I planned to break the speaker next. His words held the key to my goals, for he was wise and the voice of the traveler. My councilors walked in and began talking about our next move, our strategy to capture the light and achieve total dominance._

 _I dismissed them and sat wrapped in my thoughts, mind racing faster than I could fire my gun. I wanted more than just to capture the light for myself. I needed more, craved more. I wanted acceptance, to be chosen by the traveler. This was all meaningless if we weren't the chosen ones, for I refuse to accept the title of barbarian. I was no barbarian, I was a warrior, I was honorable and I should have been chosen. I spent decades building myself up to greatness. I was the runt in the eyes of my people and always looked down on. I was beaten, starved and treated lower than dirt for being so insignificant, so weak! I learned at an early age to defend myself, to fight and to show dominance. Then the traveler shined his light down from the heavens unto those it deemed worthy. But it didn't shine upon the red legion, upon me, and I would have to rectify that._

" _Speaker, tell me. Your tower has fallen and your guardians are slain, how do you still hope?" I asked my captive. He remained silent; another act of defiance. We were more alike than I first thought. "Fine stay silent, you miserable cur. You will eventually answer my questions whether you want to or not." I snarled rising from my throne and moving swiftly to the door. The doors opened in front of me and I heard the speaker's voice barely above a whisper say "You. Shall. Fail." I turned my head to him and responded "Others may fail, I persevere" then left the room._

 _I walked down the hall to our war room; I had to inform my superiors of our progress and also to execute the next stage of my plan. I entered the room and had one of my men connect me to the red legion superiors via holosphere. The holosphere connected and only one of my superiors appeared. "Ah, Admiral Ghaul. We hear word of your triumphant conquest over the guardian corps. We are most pleased." Said the brigadier general. I bowed my head in respect "Your words humble a lowly soldier, general" I replied._

" _Raise your head Ghaul, we have much to discuss. You must forgive us, the war counsel is busy attending other matters." He said "Your efforts against the guardians were much appreciated, and your tactical strategies were flawless. You have come a long way over the years from the soldier who could barely stand after the recoil of his weapon knocked him off his feet." He chuckled. "I'm glad to see that my trust in you was not misplaced. The other council members thought your plan was a fool's errand; that you were leading our forces to destruction at the hands of the vanguard. But I saw the genius of your plan, the potential that it held. I always felt that you had promise as a soldier and leader, that's why I chose to personally train you." I looked up at him "Thank you sir" I said. He cleared his throat and continued "Now I have read your report thoroughly and aside from the vanguard leaders surviving, am pleased with what I have read. Since that day two weeks ago our influence has been spreading throughout this galaxy, and once your plan for the light comes to fruition. Well, the red legion shall then rightfully rule over all." His voice boomed with pride. The door opened behind me and my most trusted advisor walked in. He gave a small bow of respect to the admiral and whispered to me "It is time" then quickly exited. A small smile crossed my lips though no one could tell from beneath my head piece._

" _Admiral, you are correct we will rule over all. Our power will be felt throughout this universe. At least my power will be." I said. " As of this moment, the Cabal, the Red Legion are mine to command." I nodded to one of my men and he pulled pictures up on the holosphere. They showed the bodies of the six slain councilmen each killed in a different way. Gunshot wound to the head, decapitation, burned alive, suffocated, strangled and drowned. "These men defied me to the bitter end, the challenged my might and the loyalty of the soldiers that respect me. I am power incarnate, I am death, I am destruction! I AM GHAUL" my men gave a cheer. "Admiral do you bend to my will or do you fall like the others?" He stared at me but there was no expression, at least none that I could read. Then he burst into laughter. "So, you finally made your move boy? I must say I'm impressed that you were able to facilitate this behind the scenes. Well done. Though I must say you still have a lot to learn. I've known about this little coup for ages." I chuckled "I shouldn't be surprised, you did teach me everything I know about war strategies and commanding troops."_

" _Have your men stand down Ghaul, I know you have them converging on my location." He said, and I nodded to my men and they alerted the others to stand down. "I will not follow you, for I bend to neither man nor gods. I will however observe you and guide you as I have for many years. I will act as your personal consult and as of this moment retire from the cabal army. You will lead our people to a new age of prosperity and glory. Do not disappoint me." He said. I nodded "I accept your resignation Counselman and may the glory of the Red Legion flourish!" I said. He bowed to me. "Good luck my son" he said. "Goodbye father" I said and left the room, I had a universe to conquer._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- The Two Horsemen

Weeks had passed since the tower fell and everything went to shit. The Red Legion had been crusading around the solar system hunting the powerless guardians and returning them to their eternal slumber. Many gave up hope without their light and lost the will to fight or even live. Others continued the fight even without their light adjusting and pushing through the dark times and standing together. In our clan things were no different. Most of the clan decided to walk away and live out their lives as normal people. They had people that they loved and wanted to be with and I understood that, our lives as soldiers kept us from all the things we ever wanted. Those that left along with the survivors of the tower's fall fled and settled in on Eris, a dwarf planet on the outer region of the system. To my knowledge the Legion did not even know that that planet existed, let alone if it was habitable; they'd be safe there for the time being. With so many people gone the clan was now a three person operation: Joe, Clinton and Myself. Still at our main base on Earth we were having issues figuring out what the next move should be. We had been helping a small band of survivors who stayed at a place called the farm led by Suraya, a hot headed woman with a penchant for danger. But who was I to talk, I was just as reckless. Just recently I single handedly interrupted a hive ritual and barely made it out alive. Something Joe would not let go for the last few weeks. "I get it! I almost died, it's not a big deal." I said exasperated. Joe was on another of his big brother rants about me being rash. "If you get it, why do you keep making impulsive decisions? You almost die every other day!" he snapped back. I softly chuckled "Well they say death is an adventure, I'm just making sure I enjoy the ride. Besides I love a good fight, gives my life meaning." He blew out a sigh and face palmed. Once again I was annoying Joe with my recklessness, though Joe shouldn't be so surprised. Hunters were just like that. Impulsive and reckless, always thrill seeking. I mean just look at Cayde. "Guys enough, we should get back to the problem at hand here." Clinton said.

Joe let out another sigh, "Fine. I'm assuming you are referring to the missing people correct?" he nodded. "Three more people went missing in the dark forest and that place is swarming with fallen. Suraya wants someone to go investigate. Should we go?" My face light up and I began jumping up and down. "Oh, Oh, Oh! I'll go!" I volunteered eagerly. They both just shook their heads and sighed in unison. Honestly, they should have seen this coming. I lived for danger even before all of this happened. "Well this isn't something we can ignore can it? I mean people are missing, so we need to find them." I said quickly trying to hide the excitement in my voice. Joe Scoffed "Don't even pretend, you're doing it to help find the missing people. You just want to go off on another of your reckless adventures." He stood up and headed for the door "If you want to go on this suicide mission then that's your call but I'm staying out of it. I'll let Suraya know that you'll look for the missing." Then he left. Ghost appeared besides me "He may have a point. We've been rash lately." I simply waved him off. I wanted this, no I needed this. I've been dead before and let me tell you it sucked. No afterlife, no white lights, not even eternal torment. Just cold empty darkness. Compared to take risking my life everyday wasn't so bad. The danger just reaffirmed that I was alive again, yeah it was stupid rationalization but that's just who I am. Clinton patted me on the shoulder "Well if you're going to go do you want backup?" he asked cheerfully. I shook my head and smiled. "That's ok, it's just a recon mission so it should be ok. Thanks though. Besides, don't you have a date with the hot chef?" I asked. He gave me another pat on the back and headed for the door "Just be careful and this time don't almost die" I gave him a small salute "No Promises."

~Later That Day~

I made it to the dark forest before night fall, it had been a fairly easy trip which in my experience was a bad thing. Meant trouble was ahead. I unholstered my sidearm as I approached the forest entrance and did a quick survey of my surroundings. I took note of the footprints within the ground. Three sets and all relatively fresh. I reached down and touched them lightly with my hand. The footprints didn't show signs of struggle which was a good thing. "Ghost do a quick scan see if you pick up any heat signatures" I saw still examining the area. Ghost materialized and began a scan of the area. "Hm, it seems that there are multiple heat signatures deep within the forest. Mostly fallen but there are what appears to be humans as well. How many, I couldn't say for sure. I'm also picking up something else." I raised an eyebrow "Something else? Explain" Ghost gave a quick shake "I'm not certain, I just picked up on an unrecognizable energy signature." Then he dematerialized. I told myself it was probably nothing and proceeded inside the forest via the trees, didn't want anyone following me. I just from tree to tree making sure not to make too much noise with my landing and looking out for any sign of life, that's when I saw them. A group a fallen protecting what looked to be a cage. I landed on the branch of a great oak tree and surveyed the area. Five enemies guarding that cage, and after looking closer I saw that the cage had people inside it. Three to be exact, what in the world was going on? I pulled a smoke grenade from my pack and send it into the fire they had built. Once it went off I moved quickly and quietly dispatching the fallen soldiers with my knife, then I smothered the fire with dirt before too much smoke was expelled. I dispersed the remnants of the smoke bomb buy using a special water bomb I created, though it was basically a more powered water balloon. I picked the lock to the cage and had ghost light up so that we could see. "Are you guys alright? Can you move?" I asked them. They answered yes and climbed their way out of the cage slowly. "We are sorry to have you come all this way for us." The oldest one said. "We came here after hearing a rumor about special herbs that we could use to heal the sick quickly. Needless to say, they appeared to be false and we were ambushed and captured. There was another captive here, a former guardian but they took him away deeper in the forest." I handed each of them a pistol. "Head north quickly and quietly and you'll make your way out of the forest. Once you do send word to a titan named Joe and a warlock named Clinton that they need to get here ASAP. Understood?" They nodded and took off, I was three pistols down but I still had my rifle and my knife.

I figured I should take care of the fallen that I killed so I threw their bodies on the fire pit and set it aflame again. Let's call it a calling card. I heard leaves ruffling on the ground behind me and I immediately pulled my knife and swung, catching a fallen soldier in the neck. I pulled the knife from his neck and leapt into the trees as he fell. The other fallen would be back soon and even I'm not dumb enough to fight in such an open area without a plan. I had to keep them busy here, or they'd go after the freed captives. So what should I do? I heard movement in the forest drawing closer to the camp and quickly decided my next course of action. I sat my rifle on the branch against the trunk of the tree and hid my knife underneath my armor after cutting my stomach enough to bleed out. The cut was minor enough where I wouldn't die and I knew Ghost would heal me if I became critical. "Ghost. You're to follow in stealth mode and if it looks like this is going south, intervene." I said. "Ghost Materialized and bobbed "I know what you're about to do and it is very stupid." He said. I shrugged, what else could I do at this point? I needed to find the missing guardian and it was easier to do it this way. I allowed myself to fall from the tree and lay motionless on the ground in pain. This had to look convincing. The footsteps grew closer and five fallen soldiers came into the came with guns drawn. They surveyed the scene and turned all their weapons to me. This was a gamble and I was willing to bet my life it would work. They began speaking to each other, but I didn't speak fallen so I could only guess what they were saying. They were deciding whether to keep me alive or kill me. From the looks of it I assumed that they thought I was a captive who was left behind due to injury. I moved my hand to the wounds and put a little pressure on it. The cut was deeper than I thought it was and the blood had started pouring out a bit faster. A small smile graced my lips, this was a bit fun for me as twisted as it sounds. The fallen stopped speaking and two of them hoisted me to my feet and began to walk in the direction that they came from. So it looks like this plan was going work. They would lead me to the captive, ghost would heal me and then I'd take them out. They dragged me along for about 10 minutes and the deeper we got into the forest the more I began to feel strange. Like something broken inside of me was becoming whole, and I could actually feel my wound closing slowly and strength returning to my body. Was ghost healing me? No couldn't be, the sensation was different.

We came into a clearing and the smell of blood filled the air. I looked around and saw the crumpled body of the missing guardian. They were breathing but barely. The fallen threw me forward onto the ground and I looked up into the eyes of a Red Legion soldier. "So there's just this one? What happened to the other captives?" he asked voice full of venom. The fallen said nothing. "Imbeciles! You promised us more people!" He sent a swift kick to my stomach region that knocked the wind out of me. "You fallen scum! How dare you fail in such a simple task? I should kill you where you stand!" He stomped off and I lay there trying to catch my breath. Then I felt that sensation again, what was going on? The fallen began chattering again and followed after the Red Legion Soldier. I struggled to my feet and stumbled over to the guardian. "Ghost, Heal Him" I said fingers pressed against his neck checking his pulse. "I'll do what I can but I can't promise much. Ghost said materializing. He moved closer to the guardian and began to heal him. "Just get him out of the danger zone, and stabilize him. I'm not expecting miracles." I said. I took a deep breath and put my hand to my wound, it was almost completely healed. No time to think about that. I took a quick survey of the area. It looked like they were excavating, searching for something. There were small tents set up and a small weapons cache near the closest tent. I walked over and took two rifles and four pistols and went to check on ghost. "How's he doing?" I asked. "I-I'm fine, and 'He' is called Rayne" the guardian replied weakly. He struggled to sit up, so I gave him a hand. "My ghost is offline, disabled by the red legion so I couldn't heal." He said. I placed a rifle and two pistols next to him. "This is about to get wild, so I hope you know how to handle a gun." I said with a smile. He stretched out a hand "Help me up and I'll show you how good I can handle a gun." I helped him to his feet and picked up his weapons. "Ghost will continue to heal you" I said. "You're sure you're good to go?" I asked. He checked his ammo clip and re-inserted it into the rifle. "I've been in worse situations and came out alive. That's why they call me 'Death the Vanguard'." He said and I smiled. I've heard about the man they Called "Death". It was a Vanguard Legend. Four Vanguard members known As the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. "Death", "War", "Pestilence" and "Famine", however from what I could tell the horsemen didn't know each other. I knew this to be fact, because I was War.


End file.
